Lily's World
by V.M. Bell
Summary: School and upcoming examinations have left Lily jaded, and she can't figure out why she's in Hogsmeade either. Inspired by Jostein Gaarder's "Sophie's World."


**Lily's World**

The last vestiges of cold lay scuffed on the bottom Lily's shoes. A snowy slush streaked with trails of mud, it was the final sign of the passing of winter, the reemergence of spring, and the atmosphere sparkled with it – a blue sky so fragile, an impressionable earth so soft, a caressing wind so gentle. And Lily Evans thought of none of it. To her, the day was positively the worst it could ever be. She missed – already! – the fire of the Gryffindor common room and the warmth of the large sofa in front of the hearth and the scratching of quills on parchment. All the while, her mind dwelled on three letters: O, W, and L.

Why she even signed up for a trip to Hogsmeade was beyond her imagination. Hadn't she already visited it to the point of boredom? Wasn't it a waste of time and a distraction to be here, glumly walking to the village, when she should continue her studies and preparations for the Ordinary Wizarding Levels? Didn't she pledge that she would not degenerate into a vicious cycle of procrastination, only to realize that the most important exams of her life were approaching and there was nothing she could do to stop their arrival?

A group of singing third-years pushed past her and her trudging pace, and they nearly knocked her off the path and into the mud. She glared at them and pulled her cloak tighter around her body. "It's such a lovely day!" she heard one of them day. Lily begged to differ.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hogsmeade grow gradually larger on the horizon. Turning her gaze back down to the pavement, she attempted to continue her review of five years' worth of learning.

_Cheering Charms. Definition and usage – to give the recipient of the spell a feeling of happiness. _

_Correct. _

_Possible errors – not enough or too much emphasis in the recitation of the incantation. Too much will result in a fit of hysteria. Too little will result in no effect whatsoever._

_Correct._

_Now, moving onto Switching Spells. Definition and usage – _

Another person nearly crashed into her. Lily decided that en route to Hogsmeade was not the most appropriate place to study.

Hogsmeade was always a bustling place with narrow streets and tall buildings. Regardless of season, its roads and stores were always filled with people and chatter. Too much chatter, Lily thought. She slipped past a throng of Hufflepuffs ogling Honeyduke's window display and into the Three Broomsticks. Perhaps, she reasoned, there might be less of a crowd there.

Of course, she was very mistaken.

Amidst the shouting and obvious tipsiness of the clientele, she made her way to the bar and leaned over the countertop and called out, "Madame Rosmerta?"

A large but very suave lady with three Butterbeers in each hand turned towards her. "Lily Evans, is that you? Thought you would be studying for those exams of yours."

"I thought I would too." Lily wrinkled her nose. "To be quite honest, I'm still not sure as to why I'm here. You wouldn't happen to have an answer to that, would you?"

Madame Rosmerta tossed her head back, laughing. "Now _that_ was funny. Will it be the usual?"

"Yes, please."

"To go?"

"No." She looked around. "I think I'll stay."

Heels clicking, Madame Rosmerta walked back towards the ceiling-high shelves of every beverage known to wizarding kind. She reached up and pulled down a blue bottle and a red jar, along with a tall glass. From the blue bottle came a sparkling liquid, eddying and swirling against the glass. Flipping off the lid of the jar, she reached in and grasped a cherry by its stem, then placed it in the glass, where it miraculously floated.

She pushed it forward. "Silver Falls with a cherry on top." Lily began pulling out her money when Madame Rosmerta said, "Oh, Lily, don't worry about that."

"What? But I have to pay."

"No, you need to. It's a gift from an acquaintance."

Blushing, Lily took the glass from the bar and headed to a table for two tucked in the corner. She nearly collapsed into the seat, her head falling back onto the wall. Looking at her Silver Falls, she abruptly realized that she hadn't the slightest inclination to drink it. She did, though, throw the cherry into her mouth. Too sweet, she decided, as she spit the pit onto the table. Shaking her head, she rose to her feet and walked out of the Three Broomsticks into the relative chill.

She shivered as she walked towards Hogsmeade's main square. It was one of those deceptive, transient days. From a window high up in the Gryffindor common room, it had looked balmy, almost, and it was not until she physically stepped out onto the grounds did she feel winter's still unrelenting grasp. No. It wouldn't let for a while yet. As long as exams hung upon her mind, she would not forget winter.

Tired of remaining on her feet, she slumped into one of the many benches placed at the perimeter of the square at Hogsmeade. The wood creaked beneath her shifting weight.

When had matters deteriorated into such, such that she could not sit without thinking of the remainder of potions she had yet to review or the proper way to treat a Venomous Tentacula? Restlessly, she crossed and uncrossed – and crossed again – her legs. Hogsmeade had been a frightening waste of time. She should never have been here, but Lily could not get herself to move. Was it exhaustion that was finally cracking setting in, a body that refused to obey the mind, no matter how forceful the latter was?

Instead, she contented herself with staring ahead at whatever there was ahead of her. In this particular instance, it was a mother and her child, both sitting on a bench on the opposite side of the square. She was drably clothed, lines creased on her forehead and face, the roots of her blond hair visibly white; did she have a well-paying job? Did she have a job at all? Sitting on her knee was a little girl, smiling, donning a woolen red coat. Lily narrowed her eyes, which were not accustomed to such a sharp and brilliant red.

They were happy, Lily observed. Next to them lay their shopping packages. Perhaps clothes for the little girl? Or cooking utensils, maybe? Even a book of household cleaning spells?

The girl hopped off onto the cobblestones, almost tripping. Her mother threw out her arms to catch her, but she blithely sidestepped them, walking and wobbling towards the wizened tree in the middle of the square. The wind pulled open the collar of her red, red coat, and it flew out behind her. The girl giggled. Lily cocked her head to one side.

Putting one foot in front of the other in a deliberate manner, the girl advanced closer to the tree, her eyes directed upwards. She ran her hand across the peeling ash-colored bark, watching flakes of it drift away in the wind.

"What are you looking at?" Lily called out to her.

She seemed startled. "A – a flower. There's a flower on the tree."

The games little kids play, Lily thought. "How is there a flower? The rest of the tree is bare."

"I see it." Lily got up and stood next to the girl. "Do you see it now?"

"Is it hidden behind the braches?"

"No, it's there."

"I can't see it."

"Try."

"I still can't. It must be the sun you're looking at."

"Try more."

Sighing, Lily dug into her pocket and pulled out her wand. "_Accio Flower_!" Nothing stirred. "See? There is no flower. I think you should go back to your mum now. She won't want you talking to strangers."

Lily turned and headed back to her own bench. She kneaded her forehead and wondered what impulse had possessed her. The bench had fallen cold again. Shutting her eyes, she buried her face in her hands, spots of light dancing in her eyes. How much time had she wasted now?

"Do you want to look at the flower?" Lily looked up. The girl in the red coat was standing next to her, her fingers clenched around something. "I found it."

Her fist unfolded, and from her palm emerged a crimson blossom, wilted around the edges. Lily reached out and stroked it, feeling its satin touch in her hand. When she pulled away, she found the scarlet had smeared onto her fingertips. Studying the girl, she suddenly observed that the red of the flower matched the red of her coat. Something inside of Lily trembled.

"Sometimes," the little girl said, tucking the flower into her pocket, "there are things where you think there aren't."

Near the periphery of her vision, Lily saw the girl's mother waving at them. "Hey, I think your mum's calling for you."

Without a word, the girl returned to her mother's knee. Lily lingered only a moment longer before she checked the fastenings of her cloak and began up the path leading back to Hogwarts. A pulsing warmth graced her skin, but when she noticed it, it was gone, fleeting and ephemeral. She cast a glance behind her. The girl and her mother were no longer there, either. And Lily mused whether or not anything had really happened.


End file.
